Billerica Select Board Votes Unanimously for Early Voting, Splits on Mall Easements

BILLERICA -- February 26, 2024, Billerica Select Board unanimously approves early voting for April 6 annual town election despite clerk's plea to opt out. Town Clerk Donna McCoy appeared before the board recommending the town forgo in-person early voting, citing the administrative burden of manually re-entering thousands of vote-by-mail cards under the state's VOTES Act, a process she said had staff working past 10 p.m. for weeks, with total documented costs from the recent special election reaching $48,780.51. The full board rejected her recommendation, with Selectman Burrows citing 1,306 in-person early voters at the special election and Selectwoman Conway saying early voting "has sort of become an institution here in the town." The board set early voting dates of April 1 and 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and April 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voted 3-2, over objections from Burrows and Selectman Rosa tied to longstanding resident drainage complaints, to accept two easements and release one sewer easement at the 480 Boston Road mall property.